The Vikes

The Vikes were a noble house native to Varonia. The last of their line consisted of Lord Reginald Vike and his son, Marlon.

Before retiring, Reginald spent the last few decades of his life investing part of his family wealth toward philanthropic efforts to improve Calliage, the poorest area of Flash. Some say this was to make up for mistakes in his family's past. Marlon attended university with the Silent Scholars, and was interested in researching the reliability of messenger spells, including their traceability in the Ethereal Plane.

Family History
Before the Never-Ending War, the Vike family was originally a farming family in the northern countryside. Over time, members of the family gained renown as soldiers, and then commanders. Some profiteered from aspects of the war and helped bring up the family into the higher aspects of the country. During the later years of the war, Vincent Vike was placed in charge of commanding a small regiment during an especially brutal and desperate age of the war. In a critical battle Vincent managed to lead his men to defend a critical defense point along the river for weeks until reinforcements arrived. Falling back or losing the battle would have given Fomdilla a critical breach in Varonian defenses, lost a huge portion of land, and caused the loss of many more Varonian lives.

Where past Vike commanders had accepted wealth and other rewards for their military successes, Vincent had a love for history and ancient relics. The Varonian Emperor of the time, known for giving strange rewards in an attempt to keep the country together after hundreds of years of war, awarded Vincent an ancient amulet for his efforts.

The Vikes continued to play important roles in the war during its final years. A few generations after the war, the family sold off remaining holdings in the countryside and moved to the capitol to be nearer to politics and power.

The Vike Pendant
The ancient amulet given to the Vikes was said to be a relic from the early years of Varonian history, perhaps worn by a heroic soldier from times past. Engraved on it is a depiction a tree growing out of a corpse. The pendant was passed down as a family heirloom, until seized by the Lady for some unknown interest.